章節 19: Xion CH19
Its long delicate claws moved foliage aside as it moved swiftly, and I pulled back my bow. Despite my better judgment, I needed to eat. It shouldn't be possible to kill it with what I had, but that wasn't entirely true. I moved closer to the foliage the giant lizard moved through so carefully.
I pulled the 400lbs draw bow back with little difficulty and prepared to fire. Before letting my arrow fly, a moose shot out of the woods, and the T-rex moved. Almost imperceptibly fast, it snatched up the poor creature and shook its head. I heard the massive deer's bones snap while massive steak knife-sized teeth ripped into the creature. The lizard tossed the creature up in the air before catching the front half of its body. I watched the T-rex chew up and swallow the moose down from their hide and all.
I saw the monster move, and it wasn't faster than Mekael. I climbed one of the nearby trees and found a tall limb capable of supporting my weight. From there, I spotted one of the creature's eyes and aimed my bow. The second I fired, I knew the monster would go berserk. Unfortunately, this was an opportunity that I couldn't pass up. If I thought the T-rex or whatever kind of creature the lizard really was had any sapience, maybe I would think twice.
When I drew the bow, I held another arrow between my fingers. After my first shot, I needed to draw again and take out the other eye. While it probably had a nose stronger than a bloodhound, it wouldn't spot me too quickly before I got the other eye.
A hand gripped my back, and I turned to see Mekael shaking her head. "It's forbidden to hunt and eat sapient creatures. By the forest, god's law, animals may eat us, and we may eat animals. We'll find our prey elsewhere.
"How do you know its sapient?" I asked.
"Its qi is fluctuating to in a controlled manner. You can't sense it yet, but it's pushing against us. That isn't something just any animal can do. When a god manages it, they use it to speak with us. I've used the same method and conversed with it." Mekael said.
"So, what are we going to eat," I said and held up a shaking hand.
"I found some more moose follow me," Mekael said.
Before I turned to follow her, I caught the T-rex's gaze. There weren't any facial expressions to go by, but there was some emotion in the giant lizard's eyes. It was utterly unreadable but something. Whatever Mekael felt, I couldn't determine. The monster licked its bloody snout while staring at me.
"She's saying happy hunting, or I hope your hunt is amusing. It could also be I will be amused by your hunt. Don't let it get to you; she's just marking her territory. She also says you smell exotic. That either means she wants to eat you or keep you as a pet. Giant lizards are weird sometimes." Mekael said.
I took her word for it and followed her to a small moose herd. While the moose, the T-rex snatched could have weighed around 3tons. This herd varied. Some were heavier than the moose the giant lizard snatched up, while others were much smaller. Size really wasn't my concern for the most part. As it turned out, these moose shared the same evolutionary pathway as the elves. They were one gender.
When I fired my arrow, I didn't think much of it. One of the larger moose sounded the alarm while the moose ran. The shot moose charged deeper into the forest, and I used the tree limbs above to not only follow but keep a bird's eye view. The animal didn't get far before succumbing to its wound and collapsed.
Unfortunately, the second the thing fell, a pack of scavengers swarmed it. I pulled back my bow and prepared to cut the wild dogs down, only Mekael to stop me again.
"If you start killing them, they will remember you, and the next time you hunt, they will wait in ambush. There are other options. We passed a bush that bears delicious fruit this time of year, and we can fish in the nearby pond. Or, if you're feeling particularly adventurous, we can go down to the beach and dive for fish near the reef. I haven't had soft-shelled crab in lately." Mekael said.
Instead of going to the beach, we chose a nearby river, and I managed to put my bow to good use and shot a fish out of the air mid-jump. Of course, I also had to dive into the river and find the skewered fish and arrow. Fortunately, the climate was warm, and my spandex dried quickly. Swimming to shore would have been impossible if I hadn't taken off my weights beforehand.
We started a fire on the lakeshore and cooked the fish there. I ate nearly 10 fish before I felt full enough to think about anything but food. With my mind clear, I thought about the day and couldn't help but wonder why the elves didn't farm. The elves hunted and gathered everything they needed, from what I could tell. Growing particular edible plants for raising meat animals hadn't been implemented yet. The elves, in essence, hadn't taken the first step of their evolution. It also limited their population.
I decided then that my first step when things calmed down was to find a plot of land and farm.
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